The complex Dirac Delta, Plemelj formula, and integral representations

2016

The extension of the Dirac Delta distribution (DD) to the complex field is needed for dealing with the complex-energy solutions of the Schr\"odinger equation, typically when calculating their inner products. In quantum scattering theory the DD usually arises as an integral representation involving plane waves of real momenta. We deal with the complex extension of these representations by using a Gaussian regularization. Their interpretation as distributions requires prescribing the integration path and a corresponding space of test functions. An extension of the Sokhotski-Plemelj formula is obtained. This definition of distributions is alternative to the historic one referred to surface int…